The Detroit Tigers again squandered a sterling pitching performance in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Tigers starter Doug Fister had a quality start and then some. He pitched 6.0 innings, striking out eight and giving up just one earned run. It was Fister's second start since returning from an early-season stint on the disabled list, and the second time he's had nothing to show for his work.
Last week, Fister pitched seven scoreless innings against the Mariners but was doomed by an offensive power outage and leaky bullpen in a 3-2 loss.
Saturday was eerily similar. Reliever Phil Coke gave up two seventh-inning runs, extending the A's lead to 3-0. Octavio Dotel -- the guilty closer in Fister's last game -- was able to put out the flames. But the three runs proved too big a hole for the Tigers.
In five of the Tigers' last six losses, they have failed to score more than three runs.
Delmon Young, who extended his hit streak to five games, scored Detroit's lone run in the bottom of the ninth.
Detroit, 16-17, remains two games back of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.
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